Recently in the Media Moments Category

As part of Extension's recognition of National Agriculture Day on March 19, Dean Bev Durgan highlighted the role Extension's Institute for Agricultural Professionals plays in bringing the newest research and innovations to farmers. Her column, "Reaching more farmers through agricultural professionals," was distributed to news media throughout Minnesota and has appeared in newspapers and industry publications. It was also shared via Facebook and Twitter.

"According to a 2011 survey, agricultural professionals serve an average of 60 clients each, having an impact on some 48,000 acres. Just one of the Institute's educational programs impacts 4.3 million acres across the state and surrounding regions," Durgan observed. Essential partnerships among Extension, farmers and agricultural professionals were featured recently in Source Magazine.

National Disaster Preparedness Month, celebrated in September, reminded us of the important educational role Extension and the Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) play in increasing the ability of Minnesotans to prepare for and recover from natural disasters.

When record breaking amounts of rain fell in the Duluth area in June, causing unprecedented and unexpected flooding, Extension responded by mobilizing staff who provided flood-recovery information to 730 families at local disaster recovery centers. The educators shared Recovery After Disaster: The Family Financial Toolkit, and answered questions on recovering damaged documents, recordkeeping for insurance, food safety, septic systems, mold, and the effect of flood water on lawns and gardens.

The effort did not go unnoticed. The Governor's Disaster Proclamation stated that the state looked to Extension to provide "information on a variety of basic household questions and how to prepare food safely following a flood and guide flood victims through financial decisions related to disaster recovery."

Media Efforts Inform, Educate During Unusual Spring Weather

A very warm spring, preceded by a dry fall and winter, invited many questions from Minnesota's farmers and gardeners. Extension specialists and educators worked with the media to provide answers, reinforcing our reputation as a source for credible, research-based information.

Julie Weisenhorn gave gardening advice on Minnesota Public Radio and KARE 11; Mark Seeley and Liz Stahl explained weather patterns, soil moisture and fertility in the Farm & Ranch Guide; Lisa Behnken talked ideal corn-planting dates in the Rochester Post-Bulletin; Jochum Wiersma addressed small grains planting in Ag Week.

Later, when the drought ended throughout most of the state and storms brought abundant rain and hail, John Lamb, Dan Kaiser and Jeff Coulter used the media to help farmers shift gears and cope with new challenges. Many other specialists and educators communicated research-based recommendations via newspapers, radio stations, websites and social media.

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A cold, rainy spring meant delayed crop planting for Minnesota farmers. It has also meant more chances to reinforce Extension's reputation as a source for credible, research-based information.

Several Extension faculty and educators were busy with state, regional and local media covering this topic. Liz Stahl and Russ Severson, explained the late-planting situation to a broad audience on MPR's Morning Edition, and David Nicolai helped WCCO-TV present accurate information to metro viewers. Seth Naeve, Jeff Coulter and Nicolai reached farmers with related research-based information for decision-making via Ag News Wire columns, which are distributed to hundreds of local and ag news sources. These columns appeared, for example, in Minnesota Ag Connection and Tri-State Neighbor. Local educators such as Jodi DeJong-Hughes and Dan Martens (and several others) gave interviews to ag

A video featuring Operation: Military Kids (OMK), which supports military youth in Minnesota in discovering positive ways to cope with deployment, is now available on Extension's YouTube channel. The video was created to pitch the timely program to the news media and to feature the program on the internet. YouTube makes it easy to share videos by email or on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites - just click the "Share" button below the video for options.

The topic of military families is newsworthy as approximately 2,500 troops from Minnesota are preparing to be deployed in the coming months. In addition, more than 15,000 youth have already been affected by the deployment of a parent or loved one.

Today, many of our audiences are searching for and sharing information online. They are also participating in online communities. While not all of our audiences are active online, we must pay attention to those who do seek information and relationships through the use of technology and the Internet. In addition to our Extension website, you can find Extension on Twitter and find useful information on the Extension YouTube channel. If you are looking for Extension news, check out the redesigned Extension news media website for easier access to news releases, links to Extension in the news, Ag News Wire, features, multimedia and more. The site offers RSS feeds and subscriptions, as well as links to Extension's YouTube channel and Twitter feed.

One of the snowiest Decembers in state history conspired with other factors to plague homeowners whose roofs are prone to ice dams. Extension housing technology experts Patrick Huelman and Richard Stone spent much of the holiday season helping reporters understand what causes the ice dams and how homeowners should respond. The Extension ice dam web page that they shared with reporters received approximately 20,000 visits in three weeks. Several news segments and articles provided readers with the information Patrick and Richard gave reporters and many news pieces can be found online, including from Minnesota Public Radio, Rochester Post-Bulletin and Pioneer Press.

Through a partnership with KIMT-TV (CBS News 3) and Iowa State University Extension, University of Minnesota Extension began a monthly news segment appearing on the network in July. The pilot agreement called for one Extension MidDay Moment every two weeks, rotating between Iowa State and the U of M, and continuing through December 2010. KIMT-TV reaches approximately 275,000 households in the Mason City-Austin-Albert Lea and Rochester market.

Since July, four MidDay Moment segments have aired live during the noon news update and have featured Extension faculty and staff addressing timely news topics: financial disaster recovery in the wake of the September flooding (Phyllis Onstad, family resource management educator); National 4-H Science Day (Melissa Koch, Mower County 4-H program coordinator and a local 4-H participant); school menus and fresh, local foods (Stephanie Heim, farm to school coordinator); and choosing healthy beverages (Kelly Kunkel, health and nutrition educator).

Extension recognized the contributions of 73 farm families with the 2010 University of Minnesota Farm Family of the Year Award, presented at Farmfest on August 5. An Extension news release provides the names of all, and highlights the businesses of some, recognized families. Profiles of all the families can be found at on the U of M Farm Family of the Year website. The July 26 issue of Extension Ag News Wire also featured a column from Dean Durgan about the importance of Farm Families in Minnesota. That column was printed in more than 25 newspapers across the state.